Yankee Pot Roast

Yankee pot roast with red potatoes and carrots made a wonderful dinner last night. Braised in a 12-inch deep-style Dutch oven, the chuck roast cooked at a slow simmer for about 2 hours. Once the potatoes and carrots were added it cooked an additional 30 minutes.

This my standard pot roast recipe. As often happens when I'm camping, I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand. I seasoned the chuck roast with Carl's seasoning because the thyme was left behind and I left the nutmeg out. And since I don't drink, extra beef broth took the place of the wine. A splash of Worcestershire finished the sauce.

I neglected to take a picture, however.

YANKEE POT ROAST

2-1/2 to 3 pound chuck roast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 diced carrots
1 (15-ounce) can tomatoes, crushed
3/4 cup red wine
1 teaspoon beef base
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Use a 12-inch Dutch oven for this recipe. Ignite 25 to 30 charcoal briquettes and let them burn until they are barely covered with ash, about 20 minutes. For a 350-degree oven, you'll need 8 briquettes underneath and 17 on top of the oven. You may need several extra briquettes underneath the oven while browning the meat.

Arrange 14 briquettes underneath oven in a circle. Add oil to oven and heat. Season roast with salt and pepper. Brown roast in oil until a rich brown color develops, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove roast and place on a plate. Add onions and sweat. Add the garlic and sweat until you smell them. Add remaining ingredients, to a boil and simmer until slightly reduced. Return roast to oven and cover with sauce.

Place lid on oven. Remove 6 briquettes from underneath oven and place them on lid. Place 11 additional briquettes on lid and cook for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, until roast is fork tender. (You will have 8 briquettes underneath and 17 on top.) You will need to add additional briquettes after about 1 hour to maintain oven heat.

When done, remove roast and place on a plate. Let roast stand about 10 to 20 minutes before slicing. Transfer remaining briquettes from lid to underneath oven. Strain sauce if desired. Mix water and flour with a fork until blended. Add to sauce and cook until thicken, about 10 minutes. Slice roast against the grain and top each serving with sauce.